03/31/2008

Major Taylor

If you read Todd Balf's article on Major Taylor in the June 2006 issue of Bicycling magazine, then you might be interested to know that Balf has taken his research book-length.

Major: A Black Athlete, a White Era and the Fight to be the World's Fastest Human Being, is engrossing and disturbing.

Balf does a good job of portraying the era of the late 1800s and early 1900s: racial tensions on the rise in North America as the children of freed slaves became adults and expected to get more than the white world was offering; rampant corruption in sports, including competitive cycling; and a society eager to believe that a person could still reign supreme over any form of technology (the time of John Henry, Paul Bunyan and other larger-than-life characters).

Marshall Taylor, who came to be known as Major Taylor, was one of the real larger-than-life characters. A smooth track cyclist with a powerful kick, he virtually owned the track. He was three-time world track champion, and when he embraced his faith and refused to race on Sundays (world championship races were on Sundays), he'd arrange to race the title-holder later and generally beat him. Taylor rode in matches around the world, including in Montreal, and wowed the crowds at every appearance. Yet he confronted racism at every turn, from those who did not want him racing with whites, to those who did not want him living in their neighbourhood.

Balf spends a bit too much time setting up the rivalry between Taylor and California-born white track cyclist and crooked cycling promoter Floyd McFarland. The final race is a bit of a letdown. But the story of Taylor, the obstacles he faced, and the legacy he left in Major Taylor cycling clubs and associations around the U.S., makes a good read.